operational toolkit for businesses considering reopening or … · reduce business functions that...

Operational Toolkit for Businesses Considering Reopening or Expanding Operations in COVID-19:

Risk Assessment, Modification Assessment, and Mitigation Measures

Business Risk Worksheet

Operational Tooklkit: Business Risk Worksheet 2

Getting StartedThis Business Risk Worksheet is one of the components of the Operational Toolkit for Businesses Considering Reopening or Expanding Operations in COVID-19. The complete toolkit includes:

● The Instruction Manual: instructions that explain how to use this Business Risk Worksheet and the Assessment Calculator.

● This Business Risk Worksheet: a step-by-step worksheet for businesses to report and understand their overall risk of spreading COVID-19 and how their business operations can be made safer.

● Assessment Calculator: an Excel spreadsheet that is used to calculate a user’s risk score and modification score.

To complete the operational toolkit, start by reading the Instruction Manual. The manual will guide you in how to use this Business Risk Worksheet, the Decision Tree contained herein, and the Assessment Calculator in order to obtain your overall risk score and considerations on how to further reduce risks posed to your business and employees by COVID-19. There are 4 stages in this process, which are shown in Figure 1 and described in detail in the accompanying Instruction Manual.

Overview of the Stages

Figure 1. Process showing how you will be instructed to complete this worksheet

Published on May 6, 2020Copyright © 2020 Johns Hopkins University

https://www.centerforhealthsecurity.org/our-work/pubs_archive/pubs-pdfs/2020/200506-business-RA-instruction-manual.pdf

https://www.centerforhealthsecurity.org/our-work/pubs_archive/pubs-pdfs/2020/200506-Assessment-Calculator-Business-Operational-Toolkit.xlsx


Decision Tree The Decision Tree provides businesses with an overview of the complete process outlined in this operational toolkit. The Decision Tree will be provided to you at each stage as you proceed through this Business Risk Worksheet. When you determine the scores for the risk assessment (Stage 1) and modification assessment (Stage 2), you will be able to follow the directional arrows to find your overall score (Stage 3).


STAGE 1: Risk AssessmentUse the accompanying Assessment Calculator to conduct the risk assessment and calculate your risk score. Enter your risk score below.

Find your risk score in the first part of the Decision Tree below:


STAGE 2: Modification AssessmentUse the accompanying Assessment Calculator to conduct the modification assessment and receive your modification score. Enter your modification score below.

Starting at your risk score (low, moderate, or high), follow the appropriate arrows and locate your modification score in the second part of the Decision Tree below:


STAGE 3: Determination Based on Overall ScoreFollow the arrow from your modification score to find your overall score and corresponding determination in the next part of the Decision Tree below. The overall score and corresponding determination are also provided in a larger format on the following page.


A closer look at the determinations for each overall score from the Decision Tree:


STAGE 4: Mitigation MeasuresProceed to the final stage of the Decision Tree (Stage 4) and complete the tables of mitigation measures. Where applicable to your business, fill in the tables (below) with the plans or procedures your business has implemented to increase the safety and lower the individual risk of your employees and customers.


Mitigation Measures TableUse the tables provided below to design your risk-specific business mitigation strategy. Where relevant for your business operations, mark the possible measures you can implement to reduce risk (column 2) and describe how you plan to integrate these interventions (column 3). Please note, not all measures or considerations will be applicable to your operations or business structure. There are blank spaces provided to fill in additional measures.

Physical Distancing Measures: Person-to-Person

Mitigation Possible measures/considerations (check all that could be applied to your business or add your own)

How will you integrate these interventions? Design your mitigation strategy

Limit the number of interactions between employees, customers, clients.

□ Move part or all of your business online. □ Enable employees to work from home, where

possible. □ Establish virtual service options. □ Restrict number of customers/clients allowed

into the facilities. □ Alternate employee shifts so that the same group

of people are exposed only to each other. □ Establish rotations between work from home

and onsite shifts. □ Provide longer shifts to reduce the number of

employee changes. □ Change operating hours. □ Provide services through online or phone

reservations to control number of in-person interactions at one time.

□ Change arrival and processing procedures for visitors, contractors, clients, and customers to reduce the number of external personnel allowed in the facility at one time.

□ ______________________________ □ ______________________________

Limit close-contact interactions between employees, customers, clients, etc.

□ Conduct meetings virtually. □ Limit meeting attendance and time frames. □ Utilize outdoor spaces to conduct business

operations. □ Place shields or other physical barriers between

employees, clients, customers, etc to assist in maintaining a 6-foot distance between people.

□ Utilize masks in close-contact settings. □ Utilize floor markings to ensure distance

between employees, customers, clients. □ Ensure directional flow (1-way flow) in enclosed

spaces. □ Conduct services from more than 6 feet away. □ ______________________________ □ ______________________________


Physical Distancing Measures: Persons-to-Shared Objects



Reduce number of objects moving between employees and customers.

□ Switch transactions to online-only. □ Accept card transactions only (tap and go,

cashless). □ Limit the number of employees who handle

transfer of objects (food, goods, products) to customers.

□ Alter procedures (eg, drive-through and pick-up bay options, items packed by customers in store).

□ ______________________________ □ ______________________________

Limited Gatherings and Travel Measures



Reduce opportunities for disease transmission from travel.

□ Reduce business functions that require domestic travel outside of your community or region.

□ If domestic travel is necessary, discourage mass transit use (eg, use car rentals).

□ Reduce business functions that require international travel.

□ Limit the number of employees who must travel internationally or domestically.

□ For employees who must travel, ensure that personal protective equipment (eg, gloves, masks, etc) is made available to them.

□ ______________________________ □ ______________________________

Limit mass gatherings related to business operations.

□ Explore ways to reduce the size of necessary gatherings.

□ Implement physical distancing of participants at necessary gatherings.

□ Convert gathering to virtual format. □ Review seating arrangements to account for

physical distancing. □ Review service timetables to enable distribution

of traveling customers. □ Provide barriers. □ ______________________________ □ ______________________________


Sanitation and Hygiene Measures



Procure, store, and maintain necessary cleaning supplies, personal protective equipment, and other critical supplies.

□ Identify priority cleaning supplies to disinfect surfaces, shared equipment, and facilities.

□ Request an increase in supplies from manufacturers.

□ Obtain increased shipments of hand sanitizer, rubs/gels, tissues, and other paper products.

□ Procure masks and other necessary personal protective equipment for employees.

□ Provide handwashing and hand sanitizer stations throughout the facility for employees, clients, customers, etc.

□ Procure signage and other notices related to hygiene procedures.

□ Identify alternative supply chains. □ Communicate hygiene and infection control

requirements internally and externally □ ______________________________ □ ______________________________

Develop a detailed cleaning schedule.

□ Develop and implement a sanitation plan with increased cleaning schedules to ensure surfaces, shared equipment, and rooms are cleaned more frequently.

□ Identify who will be responsible for the increased cleaning schedule (eg, contractors, current employees).

□ Ensure that those in charge of cleaning are provided with appropriate personal protective equipment.

□ Provide ample time for cleaning and disinfecting of stores and facilities.

□ Ensure cleaning undergoes quality assurance checks.

□ ______________________________ □ ______________________________


Educate and train employees on hygiene and sanitation practices.

□ Train employees on infection prevention and control procedures and WASH (water, sanitation, and hygiene procedures).

□ Create or modify training modules to include implemented public health and social measures (eg, infection control practices, physical distancing, etc)

□ Display signage and posters on handwashing and hygiene etiquette.

□ Identify means to distribute information on best practices in the workplace.

□ ______________________________ □ ______________________________

Ensure objects moving between employees and customers are clean.

□ Provide means by which individuals can sanitize objects or surfaces when interacting with them.

□ Self-serve cleaning wipes and sanitizer □ Dedicated cleaner for handles, trolleys, baskets,

and other high-touch surfaces □ Provide protective coverings for high-touch

surfaces for easier cleaning (eg, touchscreens, keypads).

□ Provide equipment to limit direct contact with high-touch surfaces (eg, gloves, single-use tools).

□ ______________________________ □ ______________________________

Company Policy Measures



Encourage employees to work from home.

□ Create or adapt work-from-home policies. □ Create and adapt paid sick-leave policies to

suit recommended 14-day quarantine/isolation policies.

□ Encourage employees to work from home if sick. □ Create plans on appropriate ways to guide your

ill employees to seek medical care and testing or to contact the local health department.

□ Maintain up-to-date resources with important contact information (eg, staff medical officer, health department, health clinics, etc).

□ Establish 2-way communication with employees working remotely or out sick.

□ Establish appropriate ways to communicate possible workplace exposures to employees.

□ ____________________________ □ ____________________________


Prepare the business for reducing activities or employee in-person hours, in the event of renewal of shelter-in-place restrictions or a surge of community cases.

□ Create plans in the event of resurgence of cases or additional public health measures that restrict operations.

□ Determine essential functions. □ Determine essential workers. □ Create alternating schedules for employees to

minimize contact. □ Prepare stock, vital supplies for partial or total

business closure. □ Perishable items □ Items that must be distributed within a certain

timeframe □ ____________________________ □ ____________________________

Risk Communication Measures



Provide information for your employees on changes to work expectations and safety practices.

□ Describe new day-to-day expectations (eg, wearing a mask, washing hands, etc).

□ Adapt existing systems to inform employees of changes (eg, email newsletter, weekly meetings, etc).

□ Create new systems to inform employees of changes (eg, email newsletter, weekly meetings, etc).

□ Identify the best spokesperson to deliver these messages.

□ Determine how frequently these messages should be sent.

□ ____________________________ □ ____________________________

Develop and implement an outlet to receive and respond to customer and employee concerns.

□ Adapt existing systems to receive feedback. □ Create new systems to receive feedback. □ When appropriate, find ways to anonymize

feedback systems. □ Identify team leaders to collate comments and

concerns. □ ____________________________ □ ____________________________


Develop a communication strategy for customers that explains the actions your business is taking to reduce the risk of spreading COVID-19 and explain what role they have in ensuring that these procedures work.

□ Describe roles and expectations of customers in the business.

□ Mask wearing □ Maintain physical distancing. □ Minimize contact with shared surfaces. □ Develop systems to communicate these changes

in expectations for customers. □ Modify existing systems to communicate these

changes in expectations for customers. □ Create signage to post around your business

communicating expectations for customers. □ Develop a strategy for how to work with

customers who are unaware of your business’s changes.

□ Account for customers with disabilities that may prevent their access, understanding, or ability to comply with new practices.

□ Create signage in multiple languages. □ Improve access to vulnerable populations. □ ____________________________ □ ____________________________

Build a regular communication plan to ensure that employees and customers receive new and important information in a timely and efficient way.

□ Identify the quickest and easiest means of communication to deliver urgent messages (eg, text, email, etc).

□ Convert existing employee communication systems.

□ Develop new methods (eg, communication apps, business interface alerts, etc).

□ Build in flexibility in your communications systems for targeted messaging.

□ Create/modify department-specific systems. □ Create/modify location-specific systems (for

businesses with multiple locations). □ Incorporate opportunities to receive questions or

feedback on delivered communications. □ Incorporate cybersecurity into messaging

systems. □ ____________________________ □ ____________________________

Develop a strategy to communicate safety practices to community members and other stakeholders.

□ Identify communication channels to communicate safety practices (eg, social media, press release, etc).

□ Identify which aspects of your safety practices are most critical to share with the community.

□ Determine best practices for regular information sharing with stakeholders and investors.

□ ____________________________ □ ____________________________

621 E. Pratt Street, Suite 210Baltimore, MD 21202

Tel: 443-573-3304Fax: 443-573-3305

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